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Written Question
Universities: Antisemitism and Islamophobia
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce cases of (a) anti-Semitism and (b) Islamophobia on university campuses.

Answered by Robert Halfon

This government condemns in the strongest possible terms any form of racial or religiously motivated harassment or violence. In the context of the conflict in the Middle East, there have been unprecedented rises in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents, which are abhorrent on every level. Universities should be welcoming and inclusive environments and higher education (HE) providers have a responsibility to take a zero tolerance approach to any form of racial or religious harassment. They have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to adopt robust policies and procedures that enable them to investigate and swiftly address reports of racism.

The Community Security Trust has reported an unprecedented rise in antisemitic incidents, which is totally unacceptable.

To support Jewish students, the Secretary of State for Education and I wrote to all universities on 11 October 2023, urging them to respond swiftly to hate-related incidents and actively reassure Jewish students that they can study without fear of harassment or intimidation. I wrote again to Vice Chancellors on 16 November 2023, emphasising that they must use disciplinary measures wherever appropriate, highlighting the importance of police engagement, and reiterating that student visas could be suspended where a foreign national is found to have committed or incited acts of racial hatred. This was one of the key actions set out in the five-point plan for tackling antisemitism in HE, which was published on 5 November 2023. The plan also involves:

  • ​Calling for visas to be withdrawn from international students who incite racial hatred. Visas are a privilege, not a right, and the government will not hesitate to remove them from people who abuse them.
  • ​Logging specific cases and sharing them with the Office for Students for their consideration.
  • ​Continuing to make it clear in all discussions that acts that may be criminal should be referred to the police.
  • ​Establishing a Tackling Antisemitism Quality Seal which will be an award available to universities who can demonstrate the highest standards in tackling antisemitism.

On 22 November 2023, the government announced in the Autumn Statement an additional £7 million over three years to tackle antisemitism in education. The Quality Seal will be the cornerstone of this package for universities, providing a framework of measures that will make clear what good practice is in tackling antisemitism in HE, and making sure that universities are a safe and welcoming space for Jewish students and staff, as for all students and staff.

Anti-Muslim hatred is equally abhorrent and has no place in our society. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their religion or belief and the government is continuing to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat it.

This government is proud to have funded Tell MAMA, a service that supports victims of anti-Muslim hatred, with over £6 million since their inception in 2012. Tell MAMA’s work has been recognised internationally as a good practice model in recording and monitoring anti-Muslim hate. The organisation has documented 2,010 Islamophobic incidents in the UK between 7 October 2023 and 7 February 2024. This represents a steep rise from the 600 it recorded for the same period the year previously. The government will not tolerate religious hatred towards Muslims and that is why the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities put in place an extra £4.9 million of protective security funding for Muslim mosques, faith schools and communities.

The new Protective Security for Mosques Scheme provides physical protective security measures (such as CCTV, intruder alarms and secure perimeter fencing) in both mosques and associated Muslim faith community centres. Protective security measures are also available to Muslim faith schools. Headteachers of eligible schools were contacted directly by the Home Office in January 2023 to register their interest.

Lastly, as my right hon. Friend, Minister Buchan stated on 4 March 2024, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities plan to appoint a new independent adviser on anti-Muslim hatred, and it will update the house shortly.


Written Question
War Memorials: Muslims
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government why the National Muslim War Memorial will not be situated in Westminster.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

On 6 March the Chancellor announced funding of up to £1million for a new war memorial to recognise the sacrifice and duty of Muslim soldiers who fought and died for this country in both world wars.

It will be a visible reminder of the important contributions of Muslims to British history, and will promote shared values amongst people of all backgrounds through building a better understanding of faith groups’ contribution to wider society. Further information will be provided in due course.


Written Question
Asylum
Monday 26th February 2024

Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to help ensure the adequacy of resources for supporting the integration of asylum seekers into British society in (a) local authorities and (b) organisations in the (i) voluntary, (ii) community and (iii) faith sector.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

This Government’s priority is to focus our efforts and resources to support those who most need it. As not all of those who seek asylum are found to need international protection, integration resources are available to those granted permission to stay. Under the New Plan for Immigration, the Government committed to offering an enhanced integration package for refugees arriving through safe and legal routes.

Individuals granted asylum have access to the labour market and to mainstream services that support their integration, including benefits and healthcare. We are working across Government to ensure these services meet the needs of all newly granted refugees.

Support is offered from Migrant Help or their partner organisation to all individuals when they receive a decision on their asylum claim. This support includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing.


Written Question
Ministry of Defence: LGBT+ People
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the inclusivity of his Department’s LGBT+ policies.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Defence is proud of all our LGBT+ military and civilian personnel, and the significant contribution they make to ensure national security, support our national interests, and safeguard our prosperity. It is essential to Defence operational effectiveness that we build a more inclusive and diverse organisation to achieve a stronger, healthier, and more resilient workforce and maximise the talent of all our people.

We are committed to continue working with our LGBT+ networks to improve the lived experience of Service personnel and civilian staff. These networks provide excellent support to the LGBT+ community through conferences, communications, and engagement, and direct support to individuals as required.

Our Armed Forces and civilian personnel regularly take part in London Pride, in addition to other Pride events across the country. Attendance at Pride events by Defence LGBT+ personnel is a powerful demonstration of how inclusive an employer Defence is and the extent to which we represent UK society. Uniformed personnel make a very public statement that you can be LGBT+ and serve your country. This challenges stereotypes and misconceptions held by serving personnel, potential recruits and gatekeepers, veterans, and the public.

Defence is committed to taking forward restorative action for LGBT individuals who were impacted by historic policies. It is a priority for us to implement the vast majority of recommendations from the Lord Etherton report and guarantee that our LGBT+ personnel remain properly supported.

Work is ongoing to update internal Defence policies and processes. We have streamlined the process for registering Armed Forces Chapels for marriage of both opposite sex and same sex couples, making it quicker and easier. Given that only two Armed Forces Chapels in England and Wales are currently registered for same-sex couples’ marriage, this change will have a highly positive impact on our LGBT+ community. Looking to the future, we are working to ensure this process is as fast as it can be, to affirm equal opportunity for our serving personnel, their close family members and veterans. We are also working to update the online human resources system for the Armed Forces with more declaration categories for faith and belief, gender, and sexual orientation. This will help to improve declaration rates which will allow us to target support where it is most needed.


Written Question
Hate Crime: Sikhs
Friday 12th January 2024

Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help provide reassurances to Sikhs on their (a) safety and (b) security in the context of recent steps taken by the Indian Government.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Hatred towards Sikhs is completely abhorrent and has no place in our society. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat it.

More broadly, we continue to look at tackling all forms of religious hatred. The department is currently seeking the views and perspectives of domestic and international experts in this field to explore how religious hatred is experienced by British communities today. This work will include anti-Sikh hatred

In 2023/24, the Home Office is providing up to £50.9 million to protect faith communities. This includes £18 million through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant, £29.4 million through the new Protective Security for Mosques scheme and a scheme for Muslim faith schools, and £3.5 million for the places of worship of other (non-Muslim and non-Jewish) faiths.

The Places of Worship Protective Security Funding (PoW) Scheme provides physical protective security measures, such as CCTV, intruder alarms and secure perimeter fencing to places of worship and associated faith community centres of all other (non-Muslim and non-Jewish) faiths that are particularly vulnerable to religiously or racially motivated hate crime in England and Wales.


Written Question
Armed Forces: LGBT+ People
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, to outline what steps his Department is taking to make the Armed Forces inclusive for members of the LGBT+ community.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Defence is proud of all our LGBT+ military and civilian personnel, and the significant contribution they make to ensure national security, support our national interests, and safeguard our prosperity. It is essential to Defence operational effectiveness that we build a more inclusive and diverse organisation to achieve a stronger, healthier, and more resilient workforce and maximise the talent of all our people.

We are committed to continue working with our LGBT+ networks to improve the lived experience of Service personnel and civilian staff. They provide excellent support to the LGBT+ community through conferences, communications, and engagement, and provide direct support to individuals as required.

Our Armed Forces and civilian personnel regularly take part in London Pride, in addition to other Pride events across the country. Attendance at Pride events by Defence LGBT+ personnel is a powerful demonstration of how inclusive an employer Defence is and the extent to which we represent UK society. Uniformed personnel make a very public statement that you can be LGBT+ and serve your country. This challenges stereotypes and misconceptions held by serving personnel; potential recruits and gatekeepers; veterans; and the public more widely.

Defence is committed to taking forward restorative action for LGBT individuals who were impacted by historic policies. It is a priority for us to implement the vast majority of recommendations from the Lord Etherton report and guarantee that our LGBT+ personnel remain properly supported.

Finally, work is ongoing to update internal Defence policies and processes. We have streamlined the process for registering Armed Forces Chapels for same-sex couple marriage. This change will make it quicker and easier to do and, given that only two Chapels in England and Wales are currently registered for same-sex couples marriage, this change will have a highly positive impact on our LGBT+ community. Looking to the future, we are exploring options to develop a mechanism to ensure this process is as fast as it can be, to affirm equal opportunity for all Defence people. We are also working to update the online HR system for the Armed Forces with more declaration categories for faith and belief, gender, and sexual orientation. This will help to improve declaration rates which will allow us to target support in the right places.


Written Question
India: Christianity
Monday 20th November 2023

Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of persecution of Christians in India; and what steps he is taking to help support persecuted Christians in India.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, discussed human rights with the Government of India, leaders of faith groups and others during his visit to India in May. Where we have issues, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level. The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions across India, consistently monitor human rights in the country, regularly engage with civil society and religious representatives, and have run projects supporting human rights.


Written Question
Religious Freedom
Monday 18th September 2023

Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, as Chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, to ensure that the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance Ministerial Conference in Prague this November is (1) informed by the experiences of affected communities, and (2) includes freedom of religion or belief experts and representatives from relevant civil society and faith-based organisations.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and Chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA), Fiona Bruce, is working with Vice Chair of IRFBA, Ambassador Rehak of the Czech Republic, to ensure the Conference in Prague in November is inclusive, well informed by affected communities and includes FoRB experts, representatives from civil society and faith-based organisations. As outlined in our Written Ministerial Statement following the 2022 Conference [https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-07-15/hlws204], we continue to build partnerships with civil society focussed on key themes from the Conference, drawing on the convening power of the IRFBA to promote FoRB for all.


Written Question
Community Relations: Religion
Tuesday 12th September 2023

Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)

Question

To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to foster inter-faith dialogue and collaboration with other religious communities.

Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner

Parish ministry is at the heart of Church of England ministry and mission, including in areas that are religiously diverse.

The 2005 report Presence and Engagement: the church’s task in a multi Faith society gave special attention to the role of the parish church in areas where there was a high proportion of people from other religions. Following this the Presence and Engagement programme aims to support and resource the Church of England in its engagement serving all religious communities: ‘loving, serving and witnessing to people of all faiths in the name of Christ, and being enriched and renewed in our own faith by doing so’. This vision is put into practice by the Presence & Engagement Programme, the Presence & Engagement Task Group, and a network of Diocesan Inter Faith Advisers.

The Presence and Engagement programme enables clergy and lay people to act with confidence and sensitivity at times of tension across religious boundaries, including times when global politics impacts local relations. Support provided includes theological resources, for example, Gods Unfailing Word, which was published in 2019 and informs and educates Anglicans about the Christian-Jewish relationship, with the aim of better dialogue and stronger relationships between Christian and Jewish communities. These resources are also used in ongoing work with theological colleges to assist in the training of new priests.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is Patron of both the Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) and the Christian Muslim Forum. Both organisations are actively working at national and grassroots levels to boost dialogue, understanding and collaboration between different religions.

In Good Faith is a national initiative co-sponsored by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Chief Rabbi, which has been promoting dialogue and collaboration between Anglican priests and Orthodox rabbis since 2016.

The Church of England has a network of Inter Faith Advisers in most regions across England, who work to model, encourage and resource the development of positive relationships between different religious communities locally. Examples include building relationships through Church/Mosque Twinning partnerships, or collaborating on local foodbanks, as well as putting on educational programmes for clergy and lay people in the diocese. Two notable examples are:

  • The St Philips Centre in Leicester. A unique initiative that for over a decade has been working within the Christian community and across wider society, enabling ‘communities and individuals to encounter one another in meaningful ways, to build understanding and trust’. It is leading efforts across the region to ensure religion and belief are harnessed for the good of all.

The Coronation of King Charles III included participation by other faith representatives for the first time, a very public affirmation of the national role of the Church of England in serving all religious communities.


Written Question
Church of England: Schools
Tuesday 12th September 2023

Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)

Question

To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to collaborate with local schools and educational institutions to promote positive values and to engage with students and educators.

Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner

Church of England schools are community schools educating over a million children a day. As a community school in many parts of the country, particularly our major cities, this means the majority of pupils are from non-Christian backgrounds, from other faith communities and from global majority ethnic backgrounds. All Church of England schools follow the national curriculum and also the Church of England’s vision for education, prioritising education of the whole child and promoting the spiritual, intellectual and emotional resources needed to live a good life. The vision for education encourages the development of the skills of wisdom, hope, community and respect; fostering a society where people can work together and have an understanding of British values, democracy, rule of law and the dignity of the human person. More details about this vision and the church schools can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/education-and-schools

Awards of nearly £13 million have been made for dioceses to help churches support more children, young people and families. The grants from the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board of the Archbishops’ Council will revitalise parishes and start new congregations. The investments build on already successful projects to create new congregations and reach children and young people in areas including Bolton, Bournemouth, Guildford, Southampton and Wakefield. More information is available here: Church of England announces £13 million of grants to reach children, youth and families | The Church of England